J.T. on ‘Survivor’: Sweet and sour
By Wade Kwon‘Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains,’ episode 1 recap
Video: J.T. feels like the underdog
against these more notorious players.
The 10 biggest heroes. The 10 sneakiest villains. Place them together in Samoa and let the sparks fly.
Samson native James Thomas Jr. may have been the hero of his season in Brazil, but can he outwit, outplay and outlast the best of the best on “Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains”?
The 2-hour premiere revealed old and new alliances, plus a showmance or two. Who was injured after only 15 minutes? Who made fire from nothing? And who ended up in tears? Find out, after the jump …
Video: The first 5 minutes of the premiere.
Return, revenge, redemption: J.T. lands on the Samoan beach along with his new tribesmates via chopper. His original championship season, “Survivor: Tocantins,” premiered one year ago tomorrow.
J.T. confesses, “I can’t wait to kick some ass out here.”
First impressions: J.T. in the new opening credits.
Reward challenge: Host Jeff Probst immediately starts them on the first competition, for flint. Competing pairs dig for a bag in the sand, then race back to their mat while keeping their opponents at bay any way they can.
The Heroes win in the end, but not without serious setbacks. Stephenie LaGrossa dislocates her shoulder, which the medic pops back in (ow!). And Rupert Boneham, he of the tie-dye shirt and pirate’s beard, broke his toe.
Oh, and Jessica “Sugar” Kiper scores a key point for the Heroes. Topless.
Video: Sugar scores. And so do we.
To the injured players’ credit, they march on.
Sharks and jets: Naturally, we’re going to see some alliances. A lot of alliances.
At the Villains camp, Russell Hantz, the bad boy and runner-up of the most recent “Survivor: Samoa” season, pulls aside Danielle DiLorenzo (a fellow runner-up) for a quickie alliance. Then he corners Parvati Shallow, winner of “Fans vs. Favorites,” for a separate alliance.
Pairing off: J.T., right, aligns with James early in the game.
At the Heroes camp, J.T. pulls aside James Clement (playing for his third time) for a macho alliance. Later, Tom Westman, winner of “Surivor: Palau,” asks J.T. to align with him, figuring he needs another champion to be in the Final 2 to have a shot at a repeat victory.
J.T. confesses, “To win this game of ‘Survivor,’ you have to have a dark side somewhere. You have to be willing to sacrifice some of your integrity to make it far in this game. … I’m here to do what I have to do to win this game.”
Perhaps the most interesting of the 426 alliances formed in the first 3 days? Ben Wade, a k a “Coach,” a k a the “Dragon Slayer,” and Jerri Manthey, a k a the “Black Widow.” Except it’s not just a strategic alliance, but also a … romantic one.
Sigh. I mean, ew!
Fire fight: Rob Mariano, the notorious “Boston Rob,” manages to build a fire for the Villains without flint. Impressive. Even more impressive are the sparks he makes with his teammates, especially Coach.
Russell vows that he’s “still the king,” and a rivalry is born.
Immunity challenge: Tribes must race in building a boat, retrieving a lit torch via boat, solve a puzzle, build a ladder and race to the top.
While the Heroes take an early lead, they stumble over the puzzle. The Villains, with Boston Rob and Sandra Diaz-Twine (winner of “Survivor: Pearl Islands”) making short work of the puzzle, speed past to claim victory and immunity.
Voted out: The Heroes had floated several names. Sugar. Amanda Kimmel, who finished second and third in two seasons. And Cirie Fields, who finished third and fourth in two seasons.
But alas, Sugar, the pinup model and actress, is out by a unanimous vote of 9-1. Her crying after the immunity challenge and her needy, noisy flirtation with Colby Donaldson. J.T. is safe.
First out: the Heroes vote out Sugar 9-1.
Video: Sugar’s final words
What did you think? Was 2 hours too long for the opener? Will J.T. be able to go all the way?
[Videos and photos to be added.]
“Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains” airs at 7 p.m. Thursdays on on CBS 42.
Previous: Full cast announced for 20th all-star season.
Next: Boston Rob passes out in the jungle. (Episode 2: Terminal crybabyitis)
Also:
- WKRG-TV interviews J.T.: “My day-to-day life really hasn’t changed since I won. I do the same thing day in and day out, fooling with cattle.”
- Birmingham News interview: “I do have a girlfriend. I started dating her right as we started ‘Tocantins.’ ”
- Entertainment Weekly interview: “I cannot wait to get Cirie out of here. Cirie is a big player-eliminator, and I don’t want her eliminating me.”
- Zap2it predicts how far J.T. will go.
• • •
Back up for grabs … more “Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains” at survivor.wadeonbirmingham.com.
Thursday, February 18, 2010, 5:14 pm
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